California Boating Law

HARBORS AND NAVIGATION CODE

erosion protection. Only beaches that are in public ownership and that are open and accessible to the public are eligible for funding under this section. 69.9. Public Beach Restoration Fund. (a) The Public Beach Restoration Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. The moneys in the fund shall be available for expenditure by the department only for the purposes of the California Public Beach Restoration Program established pursuant to this article. (b) Of the moneys in the fund, 60 percent shall be available for allocation by the department to projects south of the point at which the Pacific Ocean meets the border between the County of San Luis Obispo and the County of Monterey and 40 percent shall be available for allocation to projects located north of that point. Article 3. Small Craft Harbors and Connecting Waterways 70. Acquisition and transfer. The department may prepare plans for, and acquire, construct, develop, and improve, small craft harbors, facilities in connection with the harbors, and connecting waterways. A small craft harbor so acquired or developed may be transferred, and its operation relinquished, to a county or city, or a district having power to operate a small craft harbor, in which any part of it is located, upon the request of the city, county, or district, if the city, county, or district enters into an agreement with the department for repayment to the state of all costs incurred by the department in acquiring and developing the small craft harbor, including planning costs. The city, county, or district shall be required by the department to repay those costs. The payments shall be made in the amounts and at the times that are provided by the agreement. 70.2. Nonrevenue producing harbor facilities. (a) The department may prepare or contract for the preparation of plans for, acquire or contract for the acquisition of, construct or contract for the construction of, develop and improve, or contract for the development and improvement of any portion of coastal small craft harbors that are normally nonrevenue producing, such as jetties, breakwaters, dredging, seawalls, piers, and communication centers. (b) This program may be conducted in cooperation with the federal government for harbor development along the coastline of California. In those cooperative projects, the department may assume the role of ‘‘local sponsor’’ as that term is used in agreements with the federal government with regard to those projects referred to in this section if before the department assumes the role of ‘‘local sponsor’’ it determines to its satisfaction that the local entity that would otherwise be designated as local sponsor cannot fulfill the obligations commensurate with that designation. (c) If the nonrevenue producing facilities are to be a portion of an existing harbor, the department, prior to construction of those facilities, shall enter into an agreement with the local governing body of the harbor that provides that revenues from harbor operations and harbor district taxes shall serve as security for repayment of the state contribution to the cost of construction and the local governing body shall assume responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the facilities constructed under the agreement. (d) If nonrevenue producing facilities are to be constructed at a location where no harbor operation is being conducted by a governmental entity, the department may initiate construction of the facilities after securing an agreement with the appropriate local jurisdiction that the local entity shall assume the responsibility of operation and maintenance of the facilities, as well as repayment of all related costs of the department, as agreed to in writing.

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